Reunion in Academia
by IridiumRing92
Summary: The Oracle Drives reveal an end to the timeline that no one wants to see. Hope directs the people he knows to a space in time where nothing can ever change. After fighting in Valhalla for an eternity, Lightning arrives to see her friends once more, only to be pushed away by them. Hope seems to be the only one who understands, until a certain someone shows up... CaiusxLight :3
1. Arrival: Intrusion

**Well hey guys, I'm back. I have to confess to something before I even start: I wrote the beginning chapters of this story last year, in Octoberish. So, if you start to wonder why I didn't post this back then, sorry!**** T3T  
**

**Something else - yeah, this is a Caius and Lightning fic. Spoiler alert. I couldn't help myself. XD But, there is a second part to the story that focuses on another pairing. You'll probably figure out who it is partway through. And don't worry, I'll post that one too.**

**Meanwhile, it looks like I'll be doing my updates on Mondays again... If I'm not too lazy. Heh.**

* * *

**Arrival: Intrusion**

Lightning emerged from her room and stepped onto the adjoining balcony overlooking the center of Academia. It was only about the third time she'd actually seen anyone that day. The other two times were while she looked for her sister Serah and Serah's fiancé Snow, but she hadn't gotten a chance to speak with either of them. Though they'd been in Academia no longer than twenty-four hours, she felt the need to be away from everyone else and isolate herself in her room.

Their Academia was a time bubble, belonging to a space in the timeline that didn't quite connect with the rest of the events—kind of like the way Lightning was feeling now. The time bubble was like a refuge for them. It sealed them off from the broken timeline so they could regroup. Hope had told them about it earlier, individually redirecting them to the place so they could escape the chaos going on outside. And now here she was, back with her old friends and enemies and old problems.

She glanced down at herself for a second, once again analyzing her outfit. It was one of few she'd found in her room's closet, and none of them had resembled her old military uniform. As of now she was wearing a tank top along with a pair of shorts that seemed a size too small. She figured she wasn't going to see anyone until the next morning, but still she didn't like the new clothes much.

Lightning realized that rain had long since been spattering Academia. She wondered why she hadn't noticed it. Apparently not many others had noticed either, because people were crowding the streets down below her. She wished she could have been like them, running around the city like a bunch of kids without a care in the world, laughing and joking with their friends. But things weren't quite resolved between Lightning and her friends. Not yet.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of the door sliding open behind her. She spun around and saw an all-too-familiar figure that she almost didn't recognize in new Academia clothing.

Lightning found herself freezing in confusion as he spoke to her, a phantom smirk crossing his face.

"Evening, Lightning."

"…Caius?" she asked, crossing her arms. "How did you get up here?" Now she really wished she wasn't wearing the outfit she had on now, since it covered little. It was basically the last thing she would want Caius to see her in.

"Does it matter?" he replied, his eyes dancing across her silhouette.

"Yes, it matters. What the hell do you think you're doing?" She twisted her head at an angle and looked at him sideways. "Oh, right, you've followed me here to kill me. Well, good luck. This is a time bubble. I doubt murder is even possible here."

"I am not here to murder you." Caius laughed slightly. "Let's just say my arrival here was unexpected."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Lightning retorted.

"So many questions." He shrugged, still smiling sarcastically. "I will speak with you tomorrow. I wanted to ensure you were really here." Caius then looked up at the darkened sky, squinting into the rain.

Lightning shook her head, turning to face the city of Academia again. Yet his voice came again from behind her. "Don't you think it's a little cold out here?"

Before she could formulate a reply, she felt the light weight of a jacket over her shoulders, and then a few seconds later, the door slid open and shut again.


	2. Day One: Reunion

**Okay, yeah. I really didn't know what genre to post this under. If anyone has better ideas, feel free to tell me. X3**

**Final Paradox readers - I know, I know, you miss the lyrics I posted on every chapter. I'm lazy. Apologies.**

**Anyway, after our mysterious prologue, this chapter does most of the explaining. Hope you like it... :3  
**

* * *

**Day One: Reunion**

The next morning, the members of NORA and a few others living in their Academia apartment complex had called a meeting downstairs before breakfast. Lightning got the message via the comm pad in her room sometime early. But by then she was lying awake, and was glad for the diversion.

She pushed open the door of the small closet and examined the contents. They were the same as they had been yesterday. With a sigh, Lightning began to pull out a new outfit. There was a thin white T-shirt that probably wouldn't look all too flattering on her, and a pair of pants made of material that somewhat resembled the skirt from her military uniform. It was all she could find.

Then she spotted Caius's jacket on a chair a few feet away. Who was going to recognize that it belonged to him?

She crossed the hall and changed into her new clothes in the bathroom, and then headed downstairs.

Lightning was one of the last few to arrive, but they didn't seem to notice; everyone was too immersed in their conversations.

"Hey, Light!" a familiar voice called out just loudly enough for her to hear. "Come sit over here."

She broke into a small smile when she saw him. "Hope."

Lightning took a seat beside him and glanced around the lobby. It was a high-ceilinged room with lots of windows and chairs and sofas. Snow and Serah sat across from them, deep in conversation with some of the other members of NORA. On the opposite side of the circle of chairs, she recognized, was Sazh. And then there was a face she hadn't expected to see. Noel Kreiss, the boy who'd come to Valhalla through Etro's gate once upon a time, sat alone and listened to the others talk.

"Light?" Hope asked, nudging her slightly. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered coolly. Then she added, "You directed all these people to Academia?"

"Yeah," he said. "We found an Oracle Drive where I was working a while back. We decided that the end of the timeline wasn't something we wanted to experience. So, after a little bit of research, I found a way to get to the time bubble."

She wanted to ask him about Caius, but didn't dare mention his name around all these other people. And besides, who was to say he wasn't lurking somewhere nearby at that very moment? Lightning kept quiet about it.

"Well," she said, forcing a smile, "it's good to see you again."

Hope laughed and ran his hand through his silvery hair in response. "You too."

Eventually the conversations died down a bit. Hope stood up, intending to speak to the group, and they all turned to look at him.

"Everyone," he said, "Welcome to Academia."

There were murmurs of approval around the circle. Hope continued, "As you all know, this is what the Academy has come to call a 'time bubble'. Time doesn't pass here. Academia will stay like this forever, and as long as you're here, you will too.

"I'd like to get to the point of your rooms upstairs. You can do what you like with your designated room. There are also touch screen panels on the walls that can be used for various things, such as ordering new clothes and meals and such," he told them. "If you need anything else, just ask the Academy staff."

_Thank Etro,_ Lightning thought. _I can ask for some new clothes._ She shifted against the bulk of Caius's jacket on her shoulders.

"How long will we be here?" Serah asked.

"It doesn't matter," Hope answered. "From this point, the timeline is basically frozen to us." He looked around the circle again. "Anything else?"

There was no answer, so he nodded, sitting back down. People started talking around the room once more. Lightning sat in silence with a blank stare masking her face.

Hope leaned over to her. "Hey, Light," he said. "How have you been? I'm glad you made it."

She shrugged. "All right, I guess. It was a little rough in Valhalla. I suppose you know about that already, though."

"No," he said. "What happened? Tell me."

She normally wouldn't have felt like talking about it, but for some reason she allowed herself to explain it all to Hope. For a little while, even as some were leaving, she talked to Hope about how she'd ended up in the timeless realm. When she was finished with her story he sat back and looked at her.

"Wow. I can't believe…" Then he stopped himself, laughing slightly. "Yeah, I can believe it. You were always strong. Back then."

The memories of what had happened enveloped them for a while. Lightning finally broke the silence. "Hope," she said, glancing around to make sure no one was listening, "why did you bring Caius here, anyway?"

He looked offended. "I didn't. I—I don't even know how he got here."

Lightning sighed. "He doesn't belong here. But he's pretending like he does."

"We'll just have to work around him," Hope responded, forcing a smile.

"If he steps out of line…" Lightning slapped her open palm with a fist. "I'll deal with him."

"We'll all deal with him," he amended. "But it's not likely we'll have to. Only the military has weapons, after all."

"There must be some _reason_…," Lightning hissed under her breath.

"Don't worry about it, Light," Hope said. "We're here for you. There shouldn't be any trouble."

"With _him_ around—" Lightning began, but she cut herself off as she recognized his reassurance as a cue not to say any more. She glanced up suddenly and saw Snow leaving the room and Serah standing. She had to talk to her sister. "I have to go. I'll see you later, Hope," Lightning said, trying to manage a small smile in his direction.

"O-okay," Hope agreed. He looked confused. Still, she quickly stood and walked across the room.

"Serah," Lightning said softly as she approached her sister. Serah turned and looked at her with wide eyes, as if Lightning had just appeared out of nowhere.

"Lightning?" she asked.

"You're here," Lightning answered, and embraced her suddenly. "Thank the goddess."

There were no words between them for a few moments. Then they broke apart. "Where have you been?" Serah asked.

"Valhalla," Lightning sighed, "It's a long story. You've heard what you needed to."

"Yeah," Serah agreed. "I'm just glad you're back."

"What happened? While I was gone, I mean?"

"Nothing, really," Serah told her. "We were all too preoccupied looking for you."

Lightning laughed sarcastically. "I guess I should be flattered."

"The only thing is," Serah continued, "On the way here I lost my engagement necklace. When I stepped into the gate it was there, and when I came out it was gone."

Lightning stared at her, unsure of what to say.

"I'm just kind of…confused about what to tell everyone," Serah went on. "I don't want them to get the wrong idea."

"Does Snow know about this?" Lightning pressed.

"Yeah, he lost his necklace too."

"Just don't tell them anything. If they ask, _then_ you can explain."

"I guess so," Serah agreed.

Lightning took a deep breath, shrugging off her serious demeanor, and teased, "Don't be using that as an excuse to date Noel."

Serah's face went red. "Oh, Lightning, you know I wouldn't—" she began, flustered.

"I'm just kidding, Serah," Lightning said. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

When she looked over at Hope's chair again, it was empty. He must have already left. Lightning followed Serah into the kitchen area across the hall and took her seat at the table where everyone else sat. A few people were already eating, but most were just entering the room and had no food in front of them. She felt hunger stirring inside her as she watched.

The long table filled up fast, but there were still a few seats left empty. Lightning scanned the faces she knew. Everyone who had been there during Hope's announcement was present now.

Which meant: Caius was AWOL.

Lightning felt relief wash over her at the realization. She wasn't going to have to deal with him this morning—and he wouldn't see that she was wearing his jacket.

Soon enough, some of the staff was bringing them breakfast, setting it on the table in front of her. Lightning felt like she hadn't eaten in years. She concentrated on eating as the others talked around her.

Finally Hope turned to her. "It's weird, isn't it?" he teased. "Being around people after so long?"

"Actually, it is." She pushed food around her plate with her fork. "Every time someone comes around the corner I think it's someone I should kill."

He paused. "You mean Caius."

Lightning sighed. Then she said, "I don't know how much more I can take."

"I'm here for you, Light," Hope told her.

"Thank you," Lightning murmured in response.

Soon she was tuning in to the others' conversation. "So, Serah," Lebreau said curiously, "why'd you stop wearing your engagement necklace?"

"Oh," Serah gasped quietly. She put a hand to her chest as if the necklace was still there. Lightning cringed. She didn't think the absence of her sister's necklace would be so obvious. "I lost it." She looked down as she spoke, avoiding Lebreau's gaze.

"Really?" Lebreau raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. When I stepped through the rift to get here…" She blinked hard, as though the movement was painful. "It was there. But then in my first minutes in Academia, I realized it was gone. I think it might be a paradox."

Hope looked like he was about to say something, but stopped himself.

"That's a pretty good cover," Lebreau whispered across the table to Serah. "Let's hear the _real_ story…"

"Lebreau, cut it out," Lightning found herself saying sharply. "She's telling the truth."

Lebreau stared at Lightning as though she was the one who'd just stepped out of a rift. Then she shrugged. "Fine. Whatever," she said, dropping the subject.

Lightning stared down at her plate. It felt like no one had remembered her since she'd been gone so long, like she had just stopped _existing_ while she fought in Valhalla. Sensing the anger building up inside her, Lightning pushed her chair back and stood up, causing several people to turn and look at her.

"See you later," she told them curtly, and left the kitchen.

Though she was reluctant, she reconvened with the others at lunch. Hope had practically begged her to come back over comm messages, and she'd finally agreed.

But this instance didn't seem to be much different from the last. Hardly anyone spoke to her, aside from Hope, who went out of his way to make sure he at least wasn't ignoring her.

And then she was just about to raise her fork to her mouth when she heard a familiar voice behind the door. A familiar voice belonging to someone she had really hoped she wouldn't run into today. The door slid open, and across the room she could see the shadowy figure of—

"Damn," Lightning muttered, setting her fork down a little too quickly. Hope looked over at her.

"You alright?" he asked quietly.

"Gotta go," she replied, and dashed out of the dining room.

Lightning barricaded herself in her room after that. Hope sent a message to her comm pad asking if everything was okay, but she didn't answer it. She stared at Caius's jacket sitting on her chair. Would he be so inconsiderate as to ask about it at lunch? Then again, why was he there in the first place? Lightning shook her head. Being in the time bubble was supposed to be _less_ stressful than Valhalla, and yet here she was, agonizing over running into her eternal opponent.

But she had to give him his jacket back, didn't she?

The thought plagued her to no end.

* * *

That night Lightning finally decided to return what had been borrowed. She still wasn't sure why Caius had given her his jacket, considering she could have just walked back into her room if she was worried about the cold. But she had to give it back either way, so she headed up the stairs to his floor.

She knocked on the door to his room a few times, and not long after, he opened it. Lightning couldn't help but notice his new attire was more like Snow's, a black long-sleeved shirt and gray pants tucked into boots. Not sure whether to let herself look at him, she decided to get it over with and do what she'd come here to do.

She licked her lips and began, "I brought—"

He shook his head. "Come in."

Lightning began to reply, but he turned his back on her and walked deeper into the room.

"Shut the door, will you?" he asked.

"What—" was all she could come up with as an answer.

"So you brought it?"

"Yes." Lightning extended his jacket out to him with one hand, still hovering near the door. "Th—thank you."

"It was nothing." He took it from her and draped it over a chair. "I must request your assistance."

"Oh?" Lightning stared at him suspiciously. Since when did he so blatantly ask for help? Or, more importantly, ask _her_ for help?

"I did not mean to stay in this time bubble. It is…breaking the rules." He slowly began to pace back and forth across the room.

"What rules?"

"The rules of becoming a Guardian. I shouldn't have left Yeul." He closed his eyes and inhaled. "Lightning. Will you help me leave this time bubble?"

"I don't know if I can do that," she responded.

He whipped around to look at her. She wondered vaguely why her refusal surprised him so much. He should have expected it. "And why do you say that?" he spat.

"You're trapped, Caius. You can't leave the time bubble." Lightning met his gaze steadily. "What were you thinking when you came here? That you could just, what, _visit_ us at will? Or maybe kill us from inside and create a paradox?"

"No." His eyes were cast down. "I—" He broke off with a sigh of exasperation.

"What?" Lightning prodded.

"I thought I could take her with me." Caius's voice was so quiet she almost didn't hear him. "I thought it would save her."

"Yeul?"

"Yes."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Caius Ballad," Lightning said, raising an eyebrow, "but you've definitely broken the rules. You abandoned her."

The comment did exactly what it was supposed to. Caius's gaze snapped up, his eyes locked with hers, and he glared at her for a moment. Then Lightning turned around and pushed the door open. "Good luck," she began.

Then Caius was next to her, slamming the door closed again, his hand on her wrist to make sure she didn't try to make a sudden escape. An unforeseen consequence of her accusation. Still, she quickly composed a plan for getting away on short notice.

"You must help me." He tried to hide the pleading tone in his voice with a demanding one, but it was still there.

"Why?" Lightning shot back. "Because I'm the only one you can talk to around here? Well, that's going to change pretty soon if you're not careful."

She glanced pointedly down at his hand clasped around her wrist. With a resigned look, Caius withdrew his hand and took a step back.

"I cannot just stay here," he informed her. "I—"

"Fine." Lightning cut him off. "I'll think about it."

Before he could say anything else to her, she had opened the door, slipped out into the hall, and closed the door again.


	3. Day Two: Diversion

**Hey again. Sorry about the lack of updates last week... Meh, I know.**

**So about this chapter: I know I said this was a CaiusxLight fic, but if you happen to be a HopexLight fan... There's some stuff for you here as well :3**

**And finally, thanks to everyone who followed/favorited Reunion in Academia these past few weeks! I hope you're enjoying it!**

**IridiumRing92 signing off for now...**

* * *

**Day Two: Diversion**

The next morning at breakfast, Lightning ran into Hope again. "Morning," she said without emotion.

"Oh, Light. I wanted to talk to you." Hope pulled Lightning aside so that they stood near the window, with a clear view of the rest of Academia. Others passed by, but no one seemed to take any real notice of them.

"What's up?" Lightning asked. She vaguely wondered if it had anything to do with the conversation she and Caius had had yesterday, about leaving the time bubble, but doubted it.

"Well, since you just got here and all, I thought maybe you'd want to go take a tour of Academia," Hope answered, brushing his bangs out of his face as he talked. "You know, later tonight or something. You think you're up for it?"

"Sure," Lightning said. "Where to, exactly?"

"I was thinking maybe Grand Avenue. There's a lot to do there." His eyes searched hers for a brief moment, and then he looked away. "I'll wait for you here at seven. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me." She nodded.

"All right. See you then!" He turned and walked away quickly. Lightning smiled and watched him as he disappeared.

_I'm going on a date with Hope Estheim? Never thought that would happen._

Still, she found herself looking forward to it.

Caius was absent again that morning, so Lightning could relax slightly. Despite Hope's reassurance to her—"_We'll all deal with him, but it's not likely we'll have to"—_Lightning still felt like Caius was her burden, and hers alone. It didn't help that hardly anyone else was speaking to her. As though it was her fault he was here.

He didn't return the entire morning, and there was no sign of him in the afternoon. _Probably looking for his damn way out,_ Lightning thought. But as she was walking toward her apartment later that day, a voice called her name out from behind her.

She spun around to face none other than Caius.

"Have you found a gate?" he asked quietly.

"No," she told him, turning to face the door of her apartment, "and I'm not in a hurry to find one. I have other things that need doing."

Caius sighed. "If I go with you, will you look for one tonight?"

"I already have plans." Lightning punched in the access code and slid the door of her apartment open. She could hear him exhale in irritation.

"What about—" he began.

She held up her hand to stop him. "We'll discuss this later," she said. With that, she shut the door, not caring to hear what other protests he had.

In spite of her words, he still seemed to be prowling around the main floor, watching her. When he walked by, he seemed to be making sure he noticed her, although that part was likely in Lightning's imagination. But once, accidentally, when her hand brushed against his, she felt an unintended shiver pass through her. She attributed it to anxiety and pushed it out of her mind.

* * *

Seven o'clock in the time bubble came, surprisingly, without incident. Lightning met Hope downstairs in the lobby, and they both walked outside into Academia.

"So," Hope said, spinning on his heel and walking backwards to face her, "where do you want to go?"

She shrugged. "Wherever you want to take me, I guess."

"Alright then," he answered. "Follow me!"

Hope jogged across the street, Lightning in tow. Before long they emerged onto Grand Avenue, where people were crowding the streets and there were busy shops and gleaming lights at every turn.

"Wow. Where do we start?" she laughed.

"Anywhere you'd like," he told her.

They went from store to store for a little while, Lightning finding herself curious about everything she could see in the windows. Hope explained the common merchandise in Academia, the latest trends and what he'd come to consider "normal".

Despite herself, Lightning was fascinated. She'd never imagined half the things they encountered on Grand Avenue. Considering it was all many years in her future, she supposed it was to be expected, but still.

After a while they stopped. "Hmm… What's next?" Hope said thoughtfully. "Ah, I know." He led Lightning over to a bright purple terminal in the middle of the sidewalk.

"What's this?" Lightning asked suspiciously, touching the screen.

"It's a game," Hope answered. "Created by the Academy a long time ago. You have to answer a bunch of trivia questions. Go ahead, try it."

Lightning glanced skeptically at the screen and tapped it again. This time, a voice announced the start of the game. Lightning stepped back in surprise, and Hope tried to suppress a laugh. She pretended to glare at him.

"What technology was invented in 257 AF by the Academy?" the voice asked.

"I have no idea," Lightning admitted after a second's pause, turning to Hope.

"Need a hint?" he asked.

"If you don't mind," she replied, smiling a little.

He leaned forward and tapped an answer on the screen. It flashed white, and then the voice returned, saying, "Correct!"

They stayed at the terminal for a while, playing the trivia game, until they'd screwed up the answers more times than they could count and they were both breathless with laughter. Then Hope suggested, "It's getting late. Should we start heading back?"

"Yeah," Lightning answered.

Halfway down the street, Hope turned back to her. "One more thing," he told her with a mischievous grin.

In one of the glass-and-metal buildings full of blinking lights, there was a hidden door which Hope found and pushed open without any trouble. He led Lightning up a dark, cramped spiral staircase until the hallway opened up into a terrace on the roof of the building. The lights of Academia gleamed back at them from all sides—it seemed as though you could see the whole city from here.

Lightning breathed a sigh of amazement. Hope grinned.

"You're not afraid of heights, I hope?" he asked jokingly.

"No way," she said back.

There were a few seconds of silence between the two of them. Then Hope said, "I know you've been kind of upset, Lightning…"

"I have?" Her answer suddenly seemed too challenging, and she wished she could take it back immediately after it left her mouth.

"You just seem sort of… tense." He turned toward her, and she tore her gaze from the sea of lights in Academia to look him in the eye. "It's not surprising, from what you've been through. But I don't think the rest of them realize that."

"Yes. I'm sorry. I have." Lightning looked down and blinked hard. Hope was there. Hope had always been there. And how had she treated him in return?

This new Hope, this older version, was different to her in some ways—sometimes she heard his voice and expected to see the fifteen-year-old Hope calling out to her. And then she looked to see that he was taller, more handsome, dressed in Academy clothing. But he was still the same Hope Estheim. He hadn't changed.

"Light," Hope said quietly. "I get it, okay? I'll be here if you need me."

She nodded, thinking of her sister and of the way Fang had looked at her when she'd defended Serah, thinking of Caius and his infuriating mannerisms, thinking of all she'd been through and how little it meant to them.

"I need you," she whispered.

His eyes flicked up and down her face for a second, his gaze lingering on her lips. "And I need you."

The thought didn't occur to Lightning until it was already happening—was Hope going to kiss her? And then he leaned forward and let his mouth meet hers. The sensation of it was different than she'd imagined. Softer, more careful. Sweeter.

Then they both drew back. Lightning blinked. Hope's lips parted as though he wanted to say something, but for a second, no sound escaped his mouth. Finally he said softly, "I guess we should go back now."

"You're right," she said. "We should go back."

She was replaying the scene in her head the entire way back to the apartment building.

* * *

It was past ten o'clock when Hope and Lightning returned to the building they were staying in. Lightning told Hope good night and left for her room, which was a hard thing to do when he was looking at her like that again. Like his eyes were tracing every line of her face.

Like he wished he could kiss her again.

And, Lightning thought as she took the stairs back up to her room, maybe that wouldn't have been such a bad thing. But she felt conflicted about what she felt toward Hope. She'd only ever seen him as a comrade, as a friend. Never in the way he now seemed to see _her_.

She was so lost in thought as she made the trip to her room that she didn't notice a certain person standing a few feet behind her until he was too close for comfort.

"Lightning." The soft rumble of his voice in her ear shattered her thoughts and made her jump.

"What is it?" she snapped. He only smirked, one side of his mouth quirking up into that irritating, fleeting smile.

"Easily startled?" he remarked.

"Shut _up_, Caius," Lightning hissed. "What the hell do you want at this hour?"

"You seem uptight. Did something… happen?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Her lips twitched. If he had been anyone else, she might have considered that comment suggestive. But this was Caius. So she glared back at him. "Something not concerning you," she told him.

That seemed to both silence him and trouble him. "Is that so," he muttered.

"Look," Lightning continued, "if this is about finding your way out of here, I think it can wait until tomorrow. I'm going to bed. Got it?"

He looked away. "Fine," he answered. "But if you continue to ignore me, this realm may face my power as well."

"Whatever." She pushed past him and walked down the hall to her room.

Her mind wouldn't stop going in circles, thinking about Hope, then Caius, and then Valhalla. She had put herself in a tight situation with Hope. Yes, he had kissed her. But tomorrow, when she got up, would she have considered herself able to do it again? She wasn't sure.

And Caius. Why wouldn't he stop following her? When would he realize she had no intention of helping him? How desperate was he, to have been looking for help from his enemy?

She wondered if maybe it was a trap.

Lightning shook her head. Trap or not, there was no way she was going to take time out of her own schedule to be with Caius.

Still the question persisted. Had this been Valhalla, he would have tried to kill her by now. A lot of times. So why had he stood by and watched and merely asked for her help and only threatened her once? Was there something else he had planned?

Valhalla. Oh, Valhalla. She wasn't sure whether she could miss the place. There was no more eternal fight, but there was Hope Estheim, and there was still Caius, and there was her sister Serah. She didn't miss her battles with Caius, that was for sure, but she did miss the solitude. The way Valhalla was so quiet the times that Caius left for one of the gates. The way she could kneel before Etro's throne and listen to the voice of the goddess in her mind. And how she wasn't assaulted by noise and people and demands every thirty seconds.

Lightning blinked hard and tried to clear her mind. She had to rest for now. The only thing she could do was wait to see how things played out.

Still, she was afraid, as she lay down and stared into the darkness, that things wouldn't go her way.

Naturally, she barely got any sleep.


	4. Day Three: Distraction

**Soooo... I return again... :3**

**Okay, well, first off, Lotusbitch - thanks for all your reviews :) You seem to be tuned in to what everyone (ahem, Caius) is thinking. Yeeesss, Caius has some very interesting stuff up his sleeve... **

**Yeah, he's a very confusing character in this chapter... Lightning has yet to sort everything out...**

**Oh and of course - thanks to all of you who favorited/followed "Reunion", it's very much appreciated :)**

* * *

**Day Three: Distraction**

Lightning woke before dawn the next day. She attempted to return to sleep, but for some reason just couldn't. She dragged herself out of bed and flipped on the light in her room.

She pushed open the door of the small closet and examined the contents. She finally had something new to wear, she noticed. With a sigh, Lightning began to pull out a new outfit. At least she didn't have to wear Caius's jacket to get herself a decent set of clothes. She crossed to the bathroom across the hall to change.

It was still early enough that hopefully the kitchen downstairs would be deserted, but not so early that it would be closed. Lightning walked down the stairs to the first floor and moved into the kitchen. She expected to find it empty, but an unwelcome figure stood in the dim light near the window, his back to her.

"Caius." Her tone was unflinching and not amused.

"I knew you'd be here," Caius said, turning to face her. His smirk irritated her, but she tried not to let it show on her face.

"Let me guess. Is this about you leaving again?" she asked flatly.

"What do you think?" he asked, his face expressionless now. A direct refusal to answer her question.

She rolled her eyes. "I'd hate to leave you hanging, Ballad," she muttered sarcastically. "What a disaster that would be. You, staying here with _us _for eternity? Dear Etro, you'd have to shoot me."

Caius's gaze hardened and he let out what sounded like a hiss in response. "This is no time to kid around."

"Oh, so you're going to play that card. Well, look who's talking," she replied.

"Lightning." There was no denying the warning tone in his voice.

"Look," Lightning said, spinning and standing so that she was only inches from touching him. His nearness surprised her though she'd been the one to initiate it, and suddenly she had to force herself not to back away. "I have to eat first. Then maybe I'll go wherever you're so intent on going."

He pursed his lips. "Fine."

"That's better," she said, and headed to the side of the kitchen where she could get her food.

Minutes later, she and Caius sat across from each other in the still-dark kitchen. Caius had food in front of him, but he wasn't eating it. Lightning herself was trying to take her time and drag it out as long as possible. The feeling inside her was a paradox: She didn't want to help him—_at all_—and yet the last thing she wanted was for him to stay here in the time bubble.

"So," he said after a long, drawn-out silence, "where are you staying?"

She looked up at him for a second before answering, "Like that's something I want to share with you."

"I brought you to my apartment," he reminded her quietly.

"And you also tried to lock me in." She didn't meet his eyes. _How dare he bring up such a casual subject?_

"Because you refused to comply with my demands," he shot back.

Lightning choked back a laugh. Anyone who hadn't known what she was doing in his apartment and what his demands had in fact been would have been concerned by their conversation. "Caius, I don't think you get it."

His face twisted into that irritating smirk. "Is that so."

She rolled her eyes and went back to eating her food.

"You didn't answer my question," he told her after silence had taken over their conversation, as though this was new information.

"No. And I don't intend to." Lightning didn't even bother meeting his gaze.

"And why might that be?" he asked. "You don't trust me, perhaps?"

"I'll let you answer that yourself." Finally she stood and picked up her plate. "So are we leaving, or not?"

"Hm. I suppose." Caius glanced out the window, and she followed his gaze. The sun was just rising, and most of the city was still enveloped in darkness. Better to leave while no one could see them together, though, Lightning reasoned.

They went out onto Grand Avenue first, with Caius in the lead. Lightning followed a few feet behind him, careful to make sure she didn't walk too close.

She felt as though she had tunnel vision now, as compared to the trip she'd taken last night with Hope. Then, she'd looked around at everything, seen every minute detail in her surroundings. Now she saw only the distance between herself and Caius, and the path ahead, looking forward to where he might have been going.

They crossed the large bridge in the center of Academia so that they arrived in New Town. Caius stopped in an alley there and waited until Lightning caught up. When she did, he turned around and said quietly, "I believe there is a spacetime distortion here."

"Okay. So what do you want me to do about it?" she asked.

"Accompany me to find it," he answered.

She didn't answer, just reached out with her senses. Surely she'd be able to sense a distortion if he could. Shouldn't being in Valhalla for so long have given her that ability?

Still, she felt nothing. Caius turned and started walking away, though, and she had no choice but to follow him.

"This way," he muttered, leading her down several paths before coming to a complete dead end in the shadow of a few tall buildings.

"No, not here," Lightning said. Looking frustrated, he spun around and headed back the way they'd come.

It went on like that for a while, with Caius leading and Lightning following, and neither of them finding anything. But finally he stopped, leaning back against a wall. Lightning stood back a few feet and looked at him. But surprisingly, she noticed, the few passersby they saw hardly paid any attention at all to them.

"Are you sure you do not sense any rifts here?" Caius asked warily.

"Yes, I'm sure. Nothing seems off around here. And you've been leading us to some pretty consistent dead ends," Lightning answered, deadpan.

He growled at her. "I don't trust you."

"Huh. _You_ don't trust _me_? Interesting. I thought maybe it was just the other way around up until now."

"How can I be sure you aren't lying?" he hissed, taking a few steps closer to her.

"Look, Caius," Lightning spat. "Don't get me wrong. I don't want you anywhere near me and this time bubble. If I knew there was some sort of way out around here, I'd show you straight to it."

His expression darkened, but he said nothing. It was the truth.

After a long silence, Caius finally muttered, "This is useless," and stormed off, leaving Lightning standing alone in the streets of Academia.

At first she wondered how she was going to get back, but then she realized there were transparent panels with maps flashing brightly on them around the streets. She'd done this before, in the military—navigated unfamiliar territory. She checked the nearest map and started to make her way back to Academia.

Part of her was glad to be rid of Caius for a while, and the other part of her felt that his request was a job unfinished, something that would have to be resolved eventually.

Once she'd reached the building she was staying in, she found Hope waiting for her at the entrance. He caught her by the arm when she walked in, all too casually, as though yesterday had never happened.

"Oh, hey, Light," he said. "Where've you been? I was looking all over for you."

"I was just… taking a walk," she replied quickly.

"I could've come with you if you wanted," he told her softly.

Which was when she realized his hand was still on her arm. So yesterday _had_ happened, and he remembered. And he probably wouldn't have minded if it happened again.

_Not now_, she told herself in her head.

She took the risk. "It's okay. I… needed some time to myself," she told him slowly.

Just as she'd suspected, something in his face changed. Like he was either regretting what he'd done, or he was confused as to why she had so suddenly shut him out.

"Oh. Okay." The disappointed look on his face was almost too much for her. She wanted to apologize, to tell him what had really happened, but that urge was quickly pushed away. It wasn't logical.

_It would have been worse to tell him about Caius,_ she said to herself.

An idea came to her then. "Hope," she said. "I thought being here would be better than Valhalla. But it's just… with everything that's happened… I almost wonder if I'd be better off…"

Hope stepped forward and put his arm around her. "Light, I know. I know how you feel. But Valhalla _isn't_ better. If you were there now, you could be in danger of dying." He looked her in the eye. "And you have the rest of us here. We're here for you." The unspoken last half of his statement seemed to ring in the silence. _I'm here for you._

"That's just it," Lightning sighed. "They're not acting like it. My sister's here, but everyone else I knew once, they're just treating me like I crawled out of a hole in the ground."

"What about me, Light?" Hope smiled, half-teasing her.

"Hope, you know what I meant," she said, smiling back slightly.

"I could talk to them for you," he offered.

She sighed and turned away. "I don't think that would be a good idea. I don't want to create a confrontation. Maybe they just need time."

"Maybe," he replied softly.

There was a long silence during which they were both looking out the glass windows at the rest of Academia. Hope finally broke it by saying in a quiet voice: "Look, about yesterday—"

He paused. Lightning turned her gaze to his. "If—if you didn't want me to, you know…"

"It's fine, Hope. I'm not going to be angry at you over _that_." Lightning kept her expression open. She didn't want to scare off one of her closest friends, especially one she'd known since the War of Transgression.

"But… but did you…" he stammered. Finally he gave up. "Never mind. I—I'll see you later, okay?"

"Hope," Lightning called out after him, but before she could say anything else, he was gone.

* * *

Evening came and the residents in the time bubble all congregated in the dining hall on the main floor to eat together. Lightning couldn't help but think that this was the same place she'd met Caius this morning, the same place she'd argued with him and watched him push food across his plate idly. She wondered where he was now.

Though every cell in her body told her not to, she headed to the dining hall. She wanted to see the others, wanted to see if what she had told Hope would still hold true. _Maybe, _she told herself. _Just maybe_.

She took the last seat at the table, though, and no one seemed to notice that she was there. Lightning glanced down at herself—it was as though she was translucent. She wasn't used to this feeling.

But everyone else seemed so _normal,_ so at ease, the way they'd used to be. Only without her.

It hadn't chafed her this much until now. She found she'd lost her appetite. She stood up to leave suddenly, reminding herself how she'd said it wouldn't bother her. Apparently it hadn't worked.

"Light," Hope said quietly from beside her. Serah and a few of the others had glanced up at her momentarily, but they all looked away after just a second. Except Serah. Her sister stared back at her with a concerned expression on her face.

Lightning shook her head at Hope and turned away. If this was a joke, she thought, it was getting old fast.

She stalked upstairs to her room in a dark mood, feeling the same as she had when she'd first arrived here. Like an outsider. Like she didn't belong here.

As she turned the corner to go down the hallway where her room was, suddenly a figure materialized out of the shadows and she crashed head-on into someone. She stumbled backwards and landed on the floor.

When she finally got her bearings and looked up, she saw exactly who she hadn't wanted to see.

Caius.

"Well," he said with his usual fleeting smirk, "that was unexpected."

She was frozen to the spot, staring up at him dazedly, and he reached down and offered his hand to her.

Lightning was too stunned to think of how to respond. Finally she took his hand and he pulled her up from the ground.

"Thanks," she muttered shortly.

He said nothing to that. "What are you doing, wandering around here without anyone to protect you?" he asked instead.

She crossed her arms, ignoring the condescension of the question. "I think the question is, what are _you_ doing, coming out of nowhere like that? You almost killed me."

Caius laughed. "Unfortunate, hm?"

Lightning snarled at him. "Answer."

"What makes you think I will?" he asked. "Is it your business, Lightning?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself. _Is it your business?_ Just moments ago she'd sworn she had wanted nothing to do with him. And now he made it sound like she was intruding on him.

"That's what I thought," Caius continued. "You have no control over what I do here, Lightning. And until I find my way out of here, that won't change."

He stepped closer to her, backing her up against the wall. But for some reason she wasn't intimidated by him. She did, however, notice the fact that their chests almost touched and strands of his hair brushed her face.

"I hate to break it to you, Caius," Lightning hissed, "but I don't think there _is_ a way out."

"Lies!" He slammed his hand into the wall beside her. She managed not to flinch. "If there was a way in, there is a way out."

"Oh, I see what it is," she said. Jabbing him in the chest with a finger, she pushed him away from the wall. "You're getting desperate now. You're starting to see what a dead end you've reached."

Caius's eyes were fiery. It was then that Lightning knew she'd taken a step too far. He was going to do damage, whatever that meant. He didn't have a weapon, but he probably wouldn't be past hitting her without it—

Just then they both heard footsteps. Caius spun around, and Lightning looked over his shoulder to see Hope halfway up the stairs.

"Are you two… okay?" he asked.

Caius took a deep breath beside her. "Yes. We had a mere… disagreement."

Hope finished ascending the stairs and, to Lightning's surprise, seemed to challenge Caius. He stood facing the man, looking him right in the eye, practically glaring at him. "You, sir, would do well to mind your own business," he told Caius. Then he turned to Lightning with a curt "Let's go."

Something in Lightning wanted to finish their conversation, wanted to set Caius in his place. And yet she knew Hope wasn't going to let her do that.

But when she cast one look back at Caius as Hope dragged her away, she saw that there was still a challenge burning within his gaze. And she knew then that their confrontation was far from finished.

* * *

As Lightning lay in the darkness of her room that night, she thought of the argument she'd so badly wanted to finish earlier that day. But as she replayed it in her mind, she realized that what she most remembered was Caius leaning toward her, his face just inches from hers. And just before that, the way he'd offered his hand to her after they'd collided in the hallway.

_Why would he do that?_ she wondered. _He knows I hate him. Why would he help me in any way at all?_

_And why on Pulse did I take his hand?_

She squeezed her eyes shut. Being in the time bubble wasn't helping her sanity in the least. Especially since Caius was there.

_Or maybe it's just that I—_

Lightning shook the thought away before it could even fully form in her mind. She refused to think about him that way, let alone allow it to happen.

She rolled onto her side and gave her thoughts up to sleep.


	5. Day Four: Temptation

**Hey everyone... Here I am. I guess I don't really have that much to say today... Oh well...**

**Ahhh wait... Lotusbitch - thanks again for your amazing reviews :D Yup, things are getting interesting.**

**And thanks everybody for following/favoriting/whatever else. It's motivating! X3  
**

* * *

**Day Four: Temptation**

Morning of the next day came. Lightning woke before dawn, headed to the kitchen and had breakfast alone. When she heard the others starting to reach the main floor, she retreated back up to her room.

The whole time, she saw no sign of Caius, nor her sister, Serah. She was fairly sure she had heard Hope's voice, but she was in no mood to see him. After their kiss in Academia a few nights ago, things had only proceeded to get worse between them. And he was starting to keep her away from Caius more and more, when Caius had become the only consistent one in the time bubble.

And so that morning Lightning took her first real risk: she went to find Caius in his room.

She'd already been there once, the time when she had gone to return his jacket. She remembered the route. When she got there, however, and knocked on the door, there was no answer—no answer at all. So she pushed the access button on the keypad on the wall, mostly in frustration.

She didn't expect the door to actually open, but it did.

And there stood Caius, no more than twenty feet away, at the window with his back to her, drying his long lavender hair with a towel. He was wearing black pants, but nothing else. His arms and torso were bare, and his muscled shoulders and back stood out.

And his skin was covered in scars. Jagged, uneven, scattered white scars, some long, some short, some thick with raised skin and some barely visible. Lightning's mouth dropped open. She couldn't stop staring.

Lightning found herself wanting to trace every single one of those scars with her hands. She envisioned her fingers trailing across the scars on his shoulder blades, wondering where they had come from.

She snapped out of it as Caius, hearing the door open, spun around. When he saw her in the doorway, his lips twisted into a snarl. He draped his towel over one shoulder.

"What makes you think you can waltz in here whenever you feel like it?" he hissed.

"I—I didn't know. I was looking for you, and when I knocked there was no answer. So I—"

He shook his head and held up a hand. "That was a rhetorical question."

"So we're playing that game, huh?" Lightning asked, crossing her arms.

Caius strode across the room, coming to a halt just inches from her. Her heartbeat quickened, and she resisted the urge to back away.

"Come in," he said.

She stepped into the room, distancing herself from him. He slid the door shut.

Lightning glanced at the scars crisscrossing his back again. "Dear Etro," she whispered. "Where did all those scars come from?"

"Battles," he stated. "The endless battles of being a Guardian." He strode across the room and pulled his shirt back on, hiding the scars from view.

"I… I didn't realize." She blinked. Just then there were so many things that she wanted to say to him, but couldn't. Instead she took a deep breath and remembered what she'd come here for.

"Caius, I wanted to ask you something."

Caius turned toward her, his expression mocking. "So you're the one coming to _me_ for advice now."

Lightning gritted her teeth. Trying her hardest to ignore the jibe, she continued, "If you're really leaving here… Will you take me with you?"

She'd caught him off guard. His head snapped up and he stared at her openly. "What?"

"You know. Leaving here…" She was losing her nerve. "The gate?"

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I cannot find a gate. You said it yourself: there is likely no way out."

"But…" Lightning looked down at the floor. She realized how ridiculous the situation really was, enough so that she was asking Caius to spirit her away from this place. She kept reminding herself how not too long ago, she'd been anxious about his mere presence.

Still. That feeling, that urge to run her hands over his scarred skin…

"I apologize," he muttered.

"I—It's fine." Lightning turned away. "See you later."

"Wait." Caius's tone was urgent, rushed. Then: "Shall we… look for another gate?" he suggested.

"Why? It wouldn't do us any good." She threw up her hands.

"I thought you might want to try one more time," he said quietly. "People like you always hope even when there is no chance left."

She laughed bitterly. "And for a second there I thought you said that because you actually cared about me."

He said nothing for a minute. Then, sounding confused, he said, "You… _want_ me to actually care about you?"

"The two of us? Eternal enemies?" She laughed. "How on Pulse could that happen?"

Caius shook his head. "It couldn't," he answered.

"Well," Lightning said finally, "I guess I'll be leaving, then." Even as she said it, though, there was a strange aching feeling inside her.

* * *

Lightning stayed on the first floor in a daze for a while, in almost a state of depression. After a while she sensed the presence of someone else in the room, and she looked up to see her sister sitting next to her with a worried expression.

"Lightning? Are you okay?" Serah asked.

She sat up straighter. "I'm fine," she answered. "Just… tired."

"You haven't seemed like yourself lately," Serah said. "Is… is there something going on?"

"Well," Lightning began. If there was anyone she could tell, it was her sister. Right? "I feel like no one remembers me."

"_I _remember you," Serah put in.

"Yes. But Fang and Snow and everyone else…" She shook her head. "They all look at me like I don't belong here."

"I'm sorry," her sister said quietly. "I could talk to them if you want."

"No, no. Don't." Lightning blinked hard. "The thing is, I was planning on leaving."

"Oh, Lightning. You can't," Serah begged her.

"I never found a way out," Lightning amended. "And I would never leave you. Not without saying goodbye first."

"I can't lose you again, Lightning," Serah said. "The first time was bad enough."

"No one else seems to think so," Lightning spat harshly. Her sister's eyes widened. "I mean—you know what I mean, Serah. It's not your fault."

"I know," Serah whispered, looking down. "But—not everything's going right for me either. Things haven't been going well between Snow and me," she confessed.

"What—? I thought—" Lightning began.

Her sister shook her head. "It's been all my fault," she said softly. "I made him mad, and he hasn't acted the same way since. I just don't know." She looked like she wanted to cry.

"It's okay, Serah," Lightning told her. But really, a thousand thoughts, a thousand questions were spinning through her mind. What Serah had done and how Snow had treated her and why everyone else was alienating her and what Hope had done and what she might have been feeling for Caius. But she couldn't voice any of that. Maybe it was respect that kept her from doing so; maybe it was fear.

Then, in an unexpected gesture, she reached over and hugged her sister. "We'll get through it. Right?"

"Right," Serah answered with a slight nod. Then she said, "Keep in touch, okay? Don't leave without me."

"Deal," Lightning said.

Her sister gave her a small smile, and then they both stood and parted ways. Lightning's head felt clearer than it had before, but somehow she knew the calm wouldn't last long. Not with the way things had been going.

* * *

Despite Lightning's efforts, the events of that morning kept coming back to her. She remembered all too clearly the scars on Caius's skin; she couldn't get the picture out of her head. And with that she was remembering everything else—the way he had given her his jacket, the way he had taken her hand when she'd fallen, the way he had asked if she wanted him to care about her. It should have added up to nothing, but the more she thought about it, the worse her feeling of uncertainty got.

It didn't make sense. Lightning knew for a fact that she hated Caius. Or at least she_ had_ known that for a fact. Now she thought she hated him, and at the same time she wanted to feel his hand against hers once more, to hear him say those words to her again.

She was standing in the kitchen area of the building, watching as the dusk crept up on the city of Academia. She realized where she was just as Hope came up behind her.

"Hey, Light," he said quietly. "Do you… I mean… Would you come somewhere with me?"

"Where?" she asked.

"It's a surprise," he answered with a grin.

She forced aside her thoughts, a ritual she was starting to get used to. "Okay, sure," she answered with a half-smile.

Lightning ended up leaving the building and following Hope through Academia. He brought her to a small, secluded place at the edge of one of the streets. They were surrounded by lights and shops, but somehow there was still solitude there. A bench was positioned near the wall of one of the shops, and Hope guided her to sit next to him under the awning that stuck out from the wall.

"So, are things a little bit better now?" he asked.

"Not really. Why?" she sighed.

"I don't know. I was just wondering," he answered. "But… there's something else I have to ask you, too."

"What?" Lightning asked, suddenly a little nervous. She shifted, and he put his hand on her knee. She had to fight to keep from moving away.

"I just wondered if, maybe, there was some chance of the two of us being together, Light?" he said quietly. "I know I haven't been around much lately to talk to you. But I've wanted to know for forever. You were always there for me, Light, and now I think it's my turn to be there for you."

Lightning blinked. "Hope, I…"

"I know how it's been lately," he said again. "But Lightning, I'll make you a promise, okay? I've had feelings for you since I first met you. Since we helped each other through everything."

He was waiting for her to answer, and she hated every second of silence that she left him. But she hated herself even more for realizing that she had to tell him the truth.

Because the truth wasn't what he would want to hear. The night after he'd kissed her, she'd spent hours thinking about how she almost wished he hadn't. She'd never thought of him that way. But she'd never backed off or tensed when Caius had touched her. And she'd found herself craving his touch for days afterward.

The truth was something even _she_ didn't want to admit to herself.

"I'm sorry, Hope," she said quietly. "I don't think I can do that."

"What?" The word escaped him in a breath, like the wind had been knocked out of him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean—I'm just so caught up in all this," Lightning said. She felt like her oxygen had been cut off. The expression on Hope's face—confused, bewildered, hurt—was too much. "I don't think it's something I could take right now. And with Caius—"

She didn't get the chance to explain herself. The moment she spoke Caius's name, Hope's face changed. His gaze turned steely and he stood. "Oh, so that's what this is about?" he spat. "You're in love with Caius instead? Because that makes so much more sense. Look what you and I went through together. And you tried to kill him for a while, but you want him now?"

"Hope, that's not what I—"

"Don't even try it, Lightning," he said. "I don't want to hear any more."

"Hope!" she called out. But he was already backing away.

"You know what? I'm done," he finished. "I'm done."

And then he vanished into the crowded streets of his city.

Lightning was frozen to her spot for a minute. But when she felt herself start to slip, when she felt the threat of tears pricking at her eyes, she knew she had to go. She stood up and started running.

She was dashing through the crowds, not even knowing where she was going. People bumped into her, people shouted at her, people stared at her. But she didn't care. All she could think about was getting away.

Lightning felt as though she was breaking apart. Maybe it was because she and Hope would never see each other the same way again. Maybe it was because somewhere inside her, his words rang true.

She refused to believe that.

Her vision cleared a little and she could see again. But she'd ended up nowhere near their building. In fact, she had no idea where she'd ended up.

And somehow, that felt right. She was lost both on the inside and on the outside. So she found another place to sit, and she sank down there and put her head in her hands.

She sat alone for a few minutes, but after a while, she heard footsteps beside her. Seconds later a hand landed gently on her shoulder, and someone spoke her name: "Lightning."

Her first thought was that Hope had come back for her, but when she looked up, she saw that that wasn't it at all.

It was Caius.

"What…?" she breathed. He pulled his hand back and moved around the bench to sit next to her. He didn't sit too close. Instead, he kept a safe distance between the two of them. Or rather the normal distance between the two of them. Lightning had to try to clear her head of the nonsense that she had thought about him earlier.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Nothing." She tried to keep her expression unreadable, and her demeanor revealing nothing. No way in hell she was going to explain her problems to Caius.

"I'm sure," he said with some of his old sarcasm, leaning back.

"Look, Caius," she said, trying not to roll her eyes. "You shouldn't pry into other people's business."

"I merely asked you a question," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Well, I don't feel like answering it."

"If you insist." He stood. "But if you feel like talking, I'll be here."

Before she could even get a word out, he was gone.

Suddenly she was overwhelmed by guilt. Hope had tried to start a relationship with her, and she'd turned him away. Then Caius had asked her what was wrong, and she'd acted like he had offended her. It felt like she was the only one floundering around in her problems in the time bubble while everyone else forgot what it was like to have them.

In the end, she rose from where she sat and started to make her way back to the apartment building. After all, she reasoned, she was lost, but if she'd found her way once before, she could do it again.

But not one step she took rid her of the numbness.

* * *

**Ahhhh... I'm almost sorry to leave you guys on this nice little cliffhanger of a chapter... Things aren't going very well for Light...**

**So... I'll post again soonish. Signing off for now! :3**


	6. Day Five: Confession

**Hey everyone! I don't have much time right now so I'm gonna make it quick.**

**First of all, Lotusbitch, thank you again for your reviews! :D And thanks everyone else for follows and favorites!**

**...And... I guess that's it. On to the next chapter... Things are getting interesting, I have to say. X3  
**

* * *

**Day Five: Confession**

There was no sign of Hope the next day, and Serah was the only one Lightning had to talk to. But when her sister dragged her down to breakfast with the others, Lightning saw that things had changed. The first thing she noticed was that Snow was sitting clear at the other end of the table, and Noel, who had been absent for a while, had taken the seat right next to Serah. Lightning's insides twisted when she saw this. She could guess what had happened, though she didn't want to believe it.

The second difference was that Fang, Vanille, and Noel, sitting around Serah, were willingly speaking to Lightning. Even when she didn't speak, the others addressed her, acknowledged that she was there without glaring at her. At first she was a little unsure of what to say to them, but as the minutes passed she fell into the conversation easily.

After everyone had left, Serah pulled Lightning aside. "Come here for a second," she said, and led her sister into the room next door. It was currently empty.

"What happened?" Lightning asked. "I could have sworn none of them knew I was there."

"Hope talked to them," Serah explained. "A few days ago. He was defending you, and they listened." She paused. "Speaking of that, where is he? I haven't seen him yet today."

"About that," Lightning muttered.

There was a moment of silence. Serah asked quietly, "What? Did something happen?"

"Yes," Lightning answered. "But it's… complicated."

Serah's look changed to one of concern. "Tell me, Lightning."

She looked down. "I… He asked me… He told me he liked me. And I rejected him."

Her sister's eyes went wide. "What? You _what_?" she gasped.

"I just couldn't, Serah. I don't know what happened, but I just felt so overwhelmed. I—I couldn't." She didn't meet Serah's eyes as she spoke.

"I know how you feel."

Lightning raised her eyes to Serah's. She still didn't know exactly what had happened between her sister and Snow, but nothing could have gone well after the whole engagement-necklace ordeal. She realized that her situation was more similar to Serah's than she had first thought.

"That's how I felt, too," Serah whispered. "Like I was… like I was backed into a corner. No matter what I did, I couldn't get away."

"Serah, we'll get through this," Lightning decided after a pause. "Together. Okay?"

"Okay," her sister agreed. "We'll help each other through it."

"Something we should have done a long time ago." Lightning blinked slowly. Serah's words reminded her of what Hope had said last night.

_Look what you and I went through together._

"Yeah," Serah said with a sigh. "Thank you, Lightning. I'll see you later." She leaned forward and gave her sister a quick hug. Then she left the living room.

_Wouldn't it have been worse to deceive him_, Lightning thought as soon as her thoughts were left wandering in the silence, _to pretend that I had feelings for him? I could never do that to Hope._

Even that thought didn't feel reassuring. Yet she forced herself not to think about it any longer and gave up, heading for her room.

Every day things seemed to be changing for the better, only to suddenly get worse. Lightning wasn't sure how much more she could take. The eternal fight in Valhalla had been just another battle, but this had broken her several times over.

And it was still breaking her. Confrontation after confrontation sliced her into pieces.

But like the fight in Valhalla, she realized, if she didn't keep going, there would be nothing left to hold onto at all.

* * *

Lightning found herself in the kitchen on the first floor after dark. No one else was there, and she found solace in the lack of company. For a moment she allowed herself to just stand staring out the window, thinking of nothing in particular. The lights of Academia, blinking brightly in the darkness, were like a lullaby.

She was lost in thought enough to miss the sound of footsteps just behind her—again.

"Lightning," a voice said, and she gasped, spinning around. Caius stood behind her, wearing all black as usual. He had that frustratingly attractive little smirk on his face at seeing her reaction.

"What're you trying to do? Startle me every time you see me?" she asked, annoyed.

"Not on purpose." The way he said it didn't make her want to believe him. At all.

She strode away from the window, toward the center of the kitchen, and leaned against the lone counter in the middle of the floor. "Whatever. What do you want?"

"Last night," Caius began. "I was just about to ask you about it."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "What about last night?"

"I must have found you at a bad time," he said.

"No, really? I don't think you could have caught me at a better time, Caius," she shot back sarcastically.

"I must apologize for that. But I did intend to talk to you." His lips twitched into a smirk again. She wanted to slap herself for letting her gaze drift to his mouth.

"Is it about finding a way out again? I thought we already discussed this." Somewhere in her thoughts, Lightning realized that she was being unreasonable. Caius had hardly shown her violence or unkindness, and she was turning him, like everyone else, away.

"In fact it was not. I was inclined to ask you what had happened," he told her. "But you did not seem to want to speak to me."

"There's a reason for that," Lightning muttered under her breath.

"Are you going to tell me about it?" he asked expectantly, leaning toward her ever so slightly.

That set Lightning off. She stood up straight and started to shout at Caius. "Does _everything _have to belike this? Everywhere I turn you and everyone else are asking me about one damned thing or another! Are you all just hell-bent on making my life hard? If I didn't know better—!"

He cut her off midsentence. And not only did he cut her off midsentence, but he did it by leaning in and crushing his mouth to hers. Lightning didn't even try to speak again. She let go, allowed the warmth of his lips to melt into hers. Before now she hadn't even allowed herself to think about this, and only now did she realize how much she craved it.

Caius's hands pressed against her back, and he lifted her up onto the counter, so that he was standing between her legs. She realized how bare they looked, covered only by her short military-issue skirt. Caius braced his hands against the counter on either side of her, and a shiver went through her as she felt one of them brush across bare skin.

Caius looked her in the eye. He was still smiling slightly, and this time she fought the urge to reach out and trace the line of his mouth with her hand.

"If I do leave, you have to come with me," he whispered to her.

So that was why he wanted her to come with him to find an exit. If they found one, they could leave together.

Was it true? Had he harbored these same feelings for her the whole time?

_Then what about Yeul?_

He pulled away for just a second and then pressed his lips to the spot just below her ear. "Do you promise?" he asked.

She moved forward on the counter, closer to him. "I'm in no position to promise you anything, Caius Ballad," she replied.

"Is that so?" Caius glanced pointedly down at her legs. She tightened them around him involuntarily.

He leaned on the counter, moving toward her ever so slightly. Then he paused, looking at her as though trying to tell her something, as though he intended for their lips to meet again…

Before she could respond, they both heard the sound of a door sliding open. Caius disentangled himself from her and stepped back. "We'll continue this later," he said, and exited the room. As Lightning slid down from the counter she wondered if he meant the question he'd asked her, or the kiss.

The click of shoes sounded in the room behind Lightning, and she turned to see Lebreau walking toward her. "Lightning! Hey," she greeted her. "What on Pulse are you doing standing down here by yourself? No. Don't tell me…" She paused. "You're waiting for Hope."

Lightning cringed. Lebreau had stepped right on a land mine. But she didn't want to bring up the topic of what had happened yesterday—or just now. She could still feel the trace of Caius's lips on her skin.

"Actually… No." Lightning glanced away.

"Ooh. Don't deny it, Light. We all know what he wants from you," she said teasingly, with a playful grin. "You know, he was talking to us about you a few days ago. Telling us all about what you've been through. It sounded pretty harsh," Lebreau added. "I think he really feels bad for you, too."

"Lebreau—" Lightning began. The last thing she wanted to do was have this conversation right now.

"It's okay, Light. _I _get it. Hey, it's late. I'll see you in the morning, 'kay?" Lebreau gave her a small wave and dashed off.

Lightning leaned against the counter with a sigh. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, thinking of her "conversation" with Caius earlier. How the hell had they ended up doing what they'd done? Before now it had seemed downright impossible.

But now it was done. The door had been opened, and they couldn't close it again. She shook her head, telling herself to stop thinking about it, and started up the stairs to her room.

It didn't work. She was still thinking about him even with the door shut and the lights off. What if she had let him come back to her room with her? What if—

_Shut up. Shut up shut up shut up._ She shook her head to clear it.

The time bubble had just gotten ten times more complicated, and it was her own fault.

Yet a part of her remained constant—she wanted to go back to Caius. She wanted to go to him and forget about her confrontation with Hope, forget about the timeline, forget about leaving. She wanted his lips to melt into hers again.

She drew back from the thought of how wrong it all was. Trying to clear her mind, she closed her eyes and willed sleep to come. She surrendered herself to it—surrendered herself to the fact that in spite of everything, Hope had been right; to the fact that no matter what she told herself, she still wanted Caius. And that a part of her had ever since she'd arrived in Academia.

Ever since the night he'd laid his jacket across her shoulders, she had thought of him differently.

But as she realized all of those things, she also realized something else. She couldn't tell anyone about him. Not even her sister. If anyone knew, she would turn all of them against her again.

Lightning sighed. _I'll face this in the morning, _she told herself. _No use worrying about it now._

That was easier said than done.


End file.
